MFD Random Five #16

In which I click the shuffle icon on the increasingly frustrating iTunes app (do we really need an update every week?) and listen to the first five songs that pop up from the years 1976-85.

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1. "(It's Time to) Boogie Down" by Rhythm Heritage (1976, ABC)
   Three and a half minutes of generic midtempo disco/funk with lots of hi-hat and strings. I like it fine but I won't remember it by the middle of the next song.


2. "On My Mind Tonight" by Difford & Tilbrook (1984, A&M)
   One of the better songs on the self-titled album from the leaders of Squeeze, about which I've written: "Compared to the duo's usual fantastic writing, the songwriting on this release isn't that great, but even the best material couldn't hold up to the slick, flat production given here."


3. "Dress Me Up as a Robber" by Paul McCartney (1982, Columbia)
   Proving that even McCartney album filler is pretty dang good and the lyrics just don't matter. Slightly out of time in '82; this sounds like mid-'70s McCartney with falsetto vocals over a slightly Latin-disco groove.


4. "It's for You" by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays (1981, ECM)
   And the shuffle just took a left turn, but it's a turn for the better. This is a beautiful track from the second side of the As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls album, which my then-girlfriend gave me for a Christmas gift in 1984. (Side note: even giving me great vinyl couldn't save that relationship). This peaceful cut with its many overdubs is perfect for a cool, rainy day which is what we happen to have around here today. Featured in the 1985 movie Fandango and, more recently, in Dr. Smooth's Flashback #7 on Mixcloud. I love it when Pat kicks it up a notch with his solo at about the 4:40 mark.


5. "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)" by Instant Funk (1978, Salsoul)
   Say whaaaaat? Man-oh-man I haven't heard this jam in a long time and I'm overdue. This disco/funk tune blows away the earlier Rhythm Heritage offering. I'll be back in a few after I'm done dancing.
   
   <dance break>
   
   Just realized this is the only single release in today's Random Five: #20 on the pop chart while topping the R&B and Disco chart. Great way to end this shuffle. I've got this on the 54: Music From The Miramax Motion Picture album from 1998 and I'll go ahead and let the rest of that compilation play now.